


Wrestlemania Aftermath

by beyond_the_nights_world



Category: World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Blood, Coming Out, Established Relationship, Hospital, M/M, Raw - Freeform, Swearing, Wrestlemania 35, angry seth rollins, injured finn balor, lgtbq, worried Seth rollins, wrestling is scripted
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-06-03
Packaged: 2020-01-07 00:41:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18399620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beyond_the_nights_world/pseuds/beyond_the_nights_world
Summary: Seth is celebrating his win over Brock Lesnar, but the beast has a bad surprise for the architect





	1. Chapter 1

“And finally, the title is back, where it belongs!”

Seth was heaving the title over his head and the crowd started to cheer immediately. They were celebrating the victory over Brock Lesnar, although it wasn't the most glorious fight at all. Lesnar had beat the crap out of the Architect and only a cheap shot had brought Seth onto the street of success.  
Seth was the last one, who cared about Lesnars broken crown jewels. His only goal was, to slay the beast and to bring back the title, to be a fighting champ. This kind of champion the audience deserved.  
Seth had never understood, how they could have given Lesnar the belt. A fighter who came, whenever he wanted to, and that wasn't often.  
Finally, the belt was back and Lesnar was off to UFC or wherever the money was leading him.  
Seth stared into the audience, bathing in their devotion.  
What a Mania it had been! Kofi had become Champion after eleven years of dedication for the WWE. The Man had become the first Womanchampion with two titles.

A wide smile spread over his face for a second, when he thought about the earned victory of Finn. He was a great Intercontinental-Champion and the belt fits very well around those hips.  
Only a few members of the staff and the wrestlers knew, that he and Finn had something going on. Of course Roman and Dean were informed, and they kept it as a brotherly secret.  
It was a few months ago on a road trip from Portland, Maine to Albany, New York. The four hours drive turned into an eight hours drive due to a snow storm and a closed highway.  
They had talked about anything and everything and to Seth this had been the shortest eight hours in his entire life. He had known Finn before, had considered him as a friend. But on this trip he had realized, what a kind, funny and heartwarming guy he was. With the most gorgeous smile in the world.  
His thoughts got suddenly interrupted by a well-known and hated voice.  
A small chubby man appeared on the ramp.  
Immediately, the audience began to boo and Seth was in fight-mode within seconds. Paul Heyman being here smelled like trouble.

“Congratulations, Seth Rollins. Congratulations for celebrating an undeserved and scammed win. My client — Broooooock Leeesnar — got screwed. He would never have lost his title.... Noooo. Seth Rollins, he would have suplexed you into pieces. He had thrown you through the ring like a ragged doll. My client was just ending your career... and then...”  
“Hey, Paul... cut through the shit. I have more important things to do, than listening to the shit that comes out of your mouth.”  
Paul Heyman just smiled and lifted his hands reassuringly.  
“Well. You will probably like, what I'm telling you now, although it might be the ruin and a loss of money for the WWE. My client is leaving. He and I are of the opinion that this people and this business aren't worth being graced by Broooock Lesnars and my appearance.”

He still smiled, while walking up and down the ramp right in front of the curtain. Seth's instincts told him, that something was going on, something unplanned, and he was waiting to see Lesnar coming through the audience, attacking him from behind.

“Oh, he won't come for you. My client is finished with all of you. But, I can tell you, he was here today, and he left you a little reminder of the fact, that he is the beast and that you screwed him.”

Heyman turned around and disappeared behind the curtain, the same moment the titan tron went on.  
A completely destroyed locker room could be seen. It looked like someone had ignited a bomb inside it. Two referees were standing next to a wooden bench which had splintered. Obviously, they were helping someone up. One of the referees order the medical staff, concern in his voice. The camera moved closer and in the pile of broken tables, chairs and lockers Seth saw two legs, covered with black boots and shin pads. The Intercontinental belt was shimmering in the light of the camera, buried half under the man.

“Finn?”

Seth whispered in complete shock. His own belt fall to the ground, and he started to run.  
Panic and anger mixed in his stomach, making it hard to breath and run at the same time.  
It was only a few minutes ago, when he had seen Finn warming up. He was smiling at him, winking before he moved to his locker room.  
Seth run down the hallway that led to the looker rooms. He passed Triple H who tried to hold him back, but the Architect ignored the CEO.  
A group of people stood in front of the small room and Seth nearly bombed himself through the crowd.  
With a worried “Finn” on his lips, Seth entered the locker room, relieved to see Finn sitting on a stretcher. Blood was running down his face, dripping out of a cut above his left eye. He was holding his arm pressed against his body, while one of the staff examined him.

“Finn?”

The familiar voice made the Demon King look up and a distored smile formed around his mouth.  
Seth knelt down in front of the injured man, touching his knee gently.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice a trembling whisper.

Finn just nodded, but this wasn't enough for Seth.

“Tell me. Tell me you're okay, Babe.”

A murmur went through the crowds in front of the door, but Seth didn't care. He didn't even care that the cameras were still running, and he had probably told the news of the year. The only thing important to him was, that Finn was okay.

“I'm okay. It needs more than a beast to beat me up,” Finn joked tiredly. He didn't have to tell Seth that he felt like he was driven over by a steamroller and that they probably had to sort some bones in the hospital.

“Stop blaming yourself. Not ya fault.”

He knew Seth, and he could interpret the gaze of him, his tensed jaw, the worried shade of brown.

“I'm gonna kill him. I find him and I kill him for what he did to you.”

“Nah.” Finn shook his head and grabbed Seths hand, which still rested on his knee. “You are not his level, Seth. He wanted to provoke you.... And if you gonna react, if you gonna let your anger and your guilt win over you, it's a win for him.”

“We need to take him to hospital,” one of the medical staff stated, and they slowly pushed Seth aside.

“I'm okay.” Finn laid down, his face twisted in pain.

“I'm coming with you.”

“Nah. I think, you have to explain a few things to someone.” Finn nodded to the door and when Seth turned around he saw Triple H standing in the frame, puzzled and shocked.

“Oh... yeah. Not the way I planned a coming out.” Seth murmured.


	2. Chapter 2

The clock over the office desk clicked in the steady rhythm of time passing by. For a moment Seth thought of just rip it of the wall and throw it in the bin. Instead, he kept sitting on the chair in front of Hunters desk, waiting for the CEO to come back. This was the last place, where he wanted to be right now. He needed to be in the hospital with Finn, or on the road to Las Vegas to get his hands on Brock Lesnar. But Hunter had ordered him into his office and the sound of his voice showed Seth, that Hunter wouldn't accept any objections.

The door swung open forcefully and Hunter came in, followed by his wife Stephanie and Vince McMahon.  
Seth hadn't known that the boss was still around and from one moment to the other, he felt like they would send him to the block.  
Vince didn't look very pleased, and he reminded Seth a bit of a gobbler. All red in his face and a swollen vein throbbing at his neck.  
Stephanie leaned against the desk and to Seths surprise she showed the hint of a grin.

“What were you thinking? Your job is to act the way it is scripted.”

“Was it scripted that Lesnar beat the hell out of Finn,” Seth talked straight, trying to hold back the anger that was still boiling inside him.

“No, it wasn't, Seth, and he will hold accountable for that,” Hunter answered.

The CEO had sat down behind his desk, the smart phone in his hand a stern expression on his face.

“Your concern is reasonable, but...” Hunter started but got interrupted by Vince.

“The whole Barclay-Center heard your inconvenient display of affection. We could black out the live broadcast, but 18000 people probably tweeting their fingers to the bone. Right now.” Vince had walked up and down in the small office and Seth saw that he was thinking about ratings, about all those old-fashioned conservative supporters, who love to watch scanty dressed people fight each other, but still were of the opinion that love was reserved for man and woman.

“What's so bad about this?”

“Bad about this?” Vinces voice trembled and his face turned even more red than before.

“This is bad for business. All those woman who bought the merch because they find you hot, will literally burn them down. The young men who look up at you... an openly gay Champ... this...this... is.”

“Good for business,” Stephanie interrupted her father.

“I know that you are not the biggest supporter of same-sex relationships. But the world had turned and LGTBQ-rights are a topical theme in the society worldwide. Maybe, it's just what we need to make a change, to get our ratings up. Seth is still the Architect, a role model, the beast slayer. And Finn Balor is still one of the most loved characters, and he already had supported LGTBQ-rights before. Yeah, maybe we will lose some people, who are not willing to accept changes. But I think, we will win a lot of people who endorse it, that we are an open, supportive and non-judging business.”  
Vince looked surprised at his daughter, then over to Hunter, who nodded calmly.

“Well. I am not convinced, and if this will drive the whole company against the wall, I will blame you three for it. Do I make myself clear?”

“There will be no need to blame anyone for anything. And do you have any other chance? The cat's out, so let her hunt for the mice.”  
  


It took Seth another hour to finally be able to leave the Barclay-Center. Stephanie and Hunter had talked to him about possible story lines and the ways they wanted to get the conditions over. They had decided, that it was the best way to act normal. Some wrestlers should be supportive, others should make some jokes. Just like it was in the world outside the wrestling world.  
After the talk Seth had sneaked into the locker room, happy to see that it was empty, to catch his and Finns things and left the building through a side door. Hunter had told him hat they had brought Finn to the Langone Orthopedic Hospital in lower Manhattan, about fifteen Minutes from the Center. He parked the car nearby and headed to the modern building, searching for Finn. To his surprise — Finn sat in the waiting area of the A&E department, flipping through a sports magazine. His arm was resting in a sling.

“Finn?”

Finn looked up, grinning widely, when he saw Seth coming around the corner.

“Oh, my taxi driver is finally there. But we have to be patient, I need some final autographs under my release papers.”

Seth sat down next to Finn, examining the man carefully. The cut over the eye had been closed with a few stitches and was shining in a bright blue and red. A second bruise was forming at the left of his jaw.

“Release- Wow, one point after the other. How are you and what happened... and... thank God I see you smiling.”

“Too, sweet of ya, Seth. Well, some bruises here and there, a slightly broken bone in my arm. A few contused ribs. Nothing to worry about. The docs say I can recover at home, three to four weeks possibly.” He put the magazine back on the small side table.

“Nothing to worry about? That's a broken bone, bruises and contused ribs too much. You should be out there in the ring and not here in the hospital. Damn it...” Seth got up and took a few steps. He felt the heat and the anger rise again. Lesnar had overstepped a mark and the retribution he would get from the WWE wasn't way enough for what he did.

“Seth.” A hand rested on his shoulder, warm and strong. “Hunter had called me. I will appear on Raw next week. He told me about Vince and the story lines, and he said, you should take a few days off, too. We should figure some things out before.” Seth turned around, looking at Finn who stood behind him. To see him like that, tired and injured, cuts him to the quick. It was only his fault. Seth sighed, then nodded. “I could need some time off,” he answered. “What do you suggest?” In fact, Seth didn't want to go home and stay in Davenport alone, thinking about the incident.

“First, I want to go to sleep in the hotel. And then... well I have never been in Davenport. Heard it's nice town and a few shops where I can buy some pants and a toothbrush.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As wished, I try to go on with the former one shot and add a few chapters. I have no idea where this lead me to.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the hotel

It took them a while to get back to the hotel. The Doctor had spoken to them for half an hour, explaining the results of the examinations and what Finn should do to recover as fast as possible. After that Seth had walked over to a nearby 24/7 shop to get a cheap pants and a shirt for Finn. He didn't want to bring Finn to the hotel, wearing just his ring gear and a bloody shirt. The last few hours had caused enough trouble for both of them.  
  
“While are you smiling?” Seth asked, when they entered Finns hotel room.

“Isn't it funny? A few hours ago, we were at the point of flirting, giving heart eyes, but hadn't even mentioned to turn this into something serious. Then Brock entered the stage and what happened? You came and called me Babe and now, we have thrown the WWE into chaos.”  
He slowly moved to the bed and sat down on the edge. His rib cage was hurting, and he was wondering in what kind of position it was best to sleep.

“Yeah. Are...are you okay with that?”

Seth had never thought about that. It had just spilled out of him, caused by worries. The fact, that it could bother Finn, that he couldn't be okay with it, never came to his mind.

“I am. More than you can imagine.”

He slowly scooted back on the bed, till he leaned against the headboard. Sitting, with his legs stretched out, supported by some pillows and blankets was more comfortable for his ribs.

“Can you try to get some food from downstairs. I'm hungry as hell. And then, I think we have to talk about a few things.”  
  
When Seth came back, balancing a plate with some sandwiches, he found Finn still on the bed and asleep. He had crocked, a pillow creased under his head. It didn't look very comfortable, but Seth decided to let him sleep. It was a tough day and Finn definitely needed the rest. Seth put the plate down and grabbed a blanket, which he spread over Finn, who just reacted with a short snore. Then Seth added a note to the plate, that he was in his own room, to pack a few things together and take a nap by himself.  
He wasn't really surprised to find Roman and Dean in his room — they had a second entrance card — waiting for him to come.

“Hey man, that was a blast,” Dean grinned, throwing a beer can over to his partner and friend.

“How long have you been waiting here?”

Seth looked around his room. The TV was running silently, showing an episode of Wheel of Fortune. Two empty pizza boxes and a few cold French Fries were spread on the small table of the hotel room.

“Since you've been gone. Heard some rumors man and saw Vince. The old guy looked like getting a heart attack. His face all red like a ripe tomato.”

Seth put the can down and flopped backwards on his bed, arms and legs spread wide. He took a few deep breath and shook his head.

“He wasn't very amused, can tell ya.” He said after a few moments of silence. “But Stephanie and Hunter came up with a story line and thoughts about discovering a new audience. LGTBQ and so on.”

Roman just nodded. These were the rumors they have heard in the locker room

“How is Finn?”

“He is... as okay as he can be after what this asshole did to him. I could take him back to the hotel. Hunter gave us a week off to get back on track. Man, I was short before going

to Las Vegas to kill him. Literally....”

Dean leaned back on his chair, rubbing his hands together.

“Always said, this guy is crazy. Dumb like bread, with an ego as high as the Everest. The outgoing of the last match probably gave this ego a crack,” Dean considered. He never liked Brock Lesnar and his backstage behavior. The rules always had been invalid to him, because Vince had his back. This time had been over by now, and he wasn't the Superior anymore.

“Yeah. Not man enough to take the fight to the one he is angry about. A real coward. But he is gone, and he will get his payment for what he has done. The Best thing is to look forward and, well, it could have been worse.”

Dean looked over to Roman and couldn't hide a grin, before he added, that those secret heart eyes were annoying.  
Seth got up immediately, looking into the smiling faces of his two best friends.

“Really?”

“Really. We didn't tell a word, but it was too obvious. There were even bets, if you two were fucking or not.”

They had tried to stay out of focus. Just some smiles and winks, nothing more. No kissing, no touching beside the ring action, they hadn't even driven alone to any events.If everyone knew about it, then Brock Lesnar had known it as well.

“Dean-o let's call it a day. See ya next week, Bro.”

Roman got out of his chair, stretching his tired limbs and pulled Dean with him. The lunatic fringe didn't seem to be tired, but Roman knew, that Seth needed time for himself after the long day. He pushed his friend out of the hotel room.  
  
The sudden silence in the room was laying heavy on his shoulders. He could hear his own blood rushing in his ears. His heart was pounding like the drummer of a metal band. Way to fast and way too loud. Tiredly, he turned his head to the alarm clock on his bedside table, and he was not surprised, that the green numbers show 03.13 am. Maybe he could get a few hours of sleep and a rich breakfast in the morning, before he and Finn would go on the road trip to Davenport. He scooted back and slipped under the covers, realizing that he was still wearing the black and golden ring gear and the black 'n brave shirt. The white writing was covered with a few dots of dried blood. The last signs of the night. Seth switched off the TV and the light, breathing slowly into the dark air of his room. Manhattan never slept. Now and then a car passed the hotel, and he could hear the far sound of an ambulance or a police car, mixed up with the dull sound of airplanes, landing and starting from La Guardia or JFK Airport. The symphony of mundane sounds made him drift away into a fitful slumber.


	4. roadtrip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth and Finn are on their way to Davenport

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that the update took so long. I posted the wrong one first and than I found out I deleted the right one from my drive. Damn it. Holidays and illness took it's time and I hadn't the energy to write that much. It's always in my head but I can't get in on paper.  
> But I will leave you a little piece here. Some talking and moving forward.
> 
> Hope, that the next parts will get longer.

The feeling of something tickling his foot, made Seth woke up out of strange dreams. He opened one eye, surprised to see that sunlight was floating the room.

“Good morning, Snore head.”

Seth turned his head into the direction of the well-known voice. Finn was sitting on the edge of the bed, grinning widely at him.  
This was something Seth already knew. Finn was a morning person. Already smiling before the coffee and obviously even the state of agony couldn't hold him back from being in a good mood. Sun was hitting his face, making the bruise around his eye glow like a rainbow.

“Time?” Seth mumbled, still somewhere between being awake and being at sleep.

“Ten. Breakfast time is over, but I keep a sandwich for you. And sorry for falling asleep. I just wanted to close my eyes for a few seconds and opened them six hours later.”

“Good, that you found some sleep. How are you, beside the good mood?”  
With a sigh Seth unwind out of the blanket and lifted himself into a sitting position. His stomach was grumbling in protest, and he felt the need of some scrambled eggs, a shower and a Galleon of black coffee.

“Surprisingly fine. The pain is bearable, thanks to some good painkillers and the adrenalin of excitement.”

“Adrenalin of excitement?” He raised his eyebrow, looking at Finn with a little smirk.

“Yeah, ye know. I'm planing some sightseeing in Davenport. I've heard there are a few interesting things to discover.”  
Finn was smiling innocently, while his hand was sneaking over the bed-spread to Seth hand. Then he lower his gaze.

“And if I weren't a little handicapped, I would start the exploration of Davenports most famous attraction right now.”  
A wave of heat washed over Seth, when he saw the dark shadows in Finns eyes. He could switch between sweet goofball and hot demon king within seconds and to Seth both of it was adorable and breath taking.

“I can't wait for the exploration to start.” Seth lent in. “And here is a pre taste of all the attractions waiting for you.”  
Actually, he wanted their first kiss to be romantic and special, but he couldn't hold back. Seth just wanted to feel him for the first time. In a way, he had never felt him before. Finn went with the kiss, responding to it with a soft hum. His lids closed in the same moment he opened his mouth a bit to let Seth in. The Architect hold back, carefully exploring Finn's lips with his own.

“I imagined this for so long,” Seth whispered, “for so damn long.”  
  
Finn nodded and wanted to lift his hand to touch Seth face, but the sound of the beeping key card at the door made them both back off each other.  
The door swung open and a young housemaid pushed a cleaning cart- into the room.

“Oh...pardon,” she apologized and her gaze wandered to the clock which hung at the wall over the TV, “I have to clean the room... the check out has been at ten, Mr. Rollins.” She looked around and fumbled nervously and the handrail of her cart.

“Yeah... sure, sure... sorry. Ma'am. Ten Minutes and I'm out here.” Seth jumped up heading for the bathroom, without waiting for the answer of the house maid. The young woman just nodded and pulled the cart out of the room. “I will clean the opposite rooms first”; she smiled, closing the door behind her.  
  
Seth was relieved, when they had left New York and the amount of traffic. It had taken them two hours to get to the interstate where they could make some miles without stopping every minute due to traffic lights or idiotic drivers.

“They call us Ballins,” Finn mumbled, while he was scrolling through twitter and Instagram, updating his accounts.

“Ballins? Sounds like a Hobbit.” Seth was driving down the interstate, nipping at the coffee he had bought at a gas station a few miles ago.

“Kinda... but they ship us, at least, the most of them. Kinganddemon84 wrote: Ballins is best for business. I wonder who is the top. And rollins4life mentioned: Never was being gay so hot too me.”

Finn turned the phone to Seth, and he took a look on the screen, nearly taking a full stop right in the middle of the street. A fan had painted some fan art, that was the most pornographic thing he had ever seen.

“What the fuck have we done?”

“The wrestling world is running crazy.” Finn switched the phone off and put it back into the pocket of his jacket.

“Fifty SMS or What's app reached me. My mom and dad, a few friends, and half of the locker room congratulated me. And most of them had been happy about us finishing the hide-and-seek game,” Finn laughed, while he shifted in his seat to get a better look on Seth. “I have the feeling we were the ones realizing at last.”  
Seth nodded silently, wondering what his parents and friends would say to Finn.

“How do you feel with that? I mean, that's a big difference to what happened to us before, isn't it.”

“It is. Ye know.  Never thought about being with a man. I had always fallen in love with girls. I tried to find the answer and  possibly found it for me. Looks were never the decisive point for me. It was always the inside. Devotion, kindness, humor.... that's what attracted me.”  
Seth thought about what Finn had said. Seth had a lot of woman along the way, but had never stayed long. He thought he had decided by look first. All of his past girlfriends were a different type of woman. In the end, it never fitted enough to think about something serious. Maybe the inside hadn't fit.

“Can we pause soon? I need to stretch myself!”

The GPS told them that there would be a roadhouse an hour away and Finn was okay with driving to that place, eating a burger and getting the blood to flow again.

With burgers and fries at the table they search the internet for a place to stay for the night. Seth had thought about driving straight to Davenport, but sleeping in and the amount of traffic ruined his plan. They book a room at a motel at Huron right next to Lake Erie, where they arrived in the evening after another four hours drive.

 

**Author's Note:**

> It's planned as a one shot, but if you are interested I might write a few chapters more.  
> Tell me in the comments :-)


End file.
